Coin-operated telephones are available in most public
places. Whenever you are dialling a number outside the telephone
region of the call box you are using, you have to prefix the number
with 1; this puts you through to the operator, who will tell you
how much money you need to get connected. The operator asks for an
amount (about $2.50) to cover the initial time period, which even
within a province is fairly brief. Thereafter you'll be asked to
shovel money in at regular intervals, so unless you're making a
reverse-charge/collect call you need a stack of coins - usually
quarters (25¢). Some connections within a single telephone code
area are charged at the long-distance rate, and thus need the "1"
prefix; a recorded message will tell you if this is necessary as
soon as you dial the number. Local calls cost 25¢ from a public
phone and are dialled direct; private subscribers pay nothing for
these, so you'll find that shops often don't mind you using their
phone for local calls. Emergency (tel 911) and information (tel 411
local, tel 555-1212 long distance) are free from payphones.
Long-distance calls are cheapest from 11pm to 8am daily, and
most expensive from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday. From 6pm to 11pm
on Monday to Saturday and from 8am to 11pm on Sunday, charges are
more economical. Detailed rates are listed at the front of the
telephone directory .
Needless to say, using pocketfuls of money is an inconvenient
way of making international calls . Payphones taking major
credit cards, however, are increasingly common, especially in
transport and major tourist centres. In some cities there are Bell
offices that enable you to make your call and pay afterwards.
Nearly all the provincial and national phone companies produce
local and long-distance calling cards . Cards are
sold in various outlets, including petrol stations, pharmacies and
post offices, and in various denominations from $5 to $50, with
calls being offered at discounted rates. You are given a number to
dial and then a PIN number before you dial your destination.
AT&T and other companies also produce affinity cards whereby
the cost of your call is debited directly from your credit- or
debit-card account.
More upmarket hotels and motels have direct-dial phones
where the call is automatically charged to your bill. Elsewhere,
the hotel switchboard operator will place a call for you, or you'll
be linked to an operator who will ask for the room number to which
to charge the call - but be warned that virtually all hotels will
levy a service charge in the region of 65-95 percent.
Many hotels, tourist offices and transport companies have
toll-free numbers (prefixed by tel 1-800, 1-877 or 1-777).
Some of these can only be dialled from phones in the same province,
others from anywhere within Canada, a few from anywhere in North
America - as a rough guideline, the larger the organization, the
wider its toll-free net.
Increasingly popular the world round, cellular phones
(mobiles) are sold pretty much everywhere and are sometimes
available to rent from information centres in major cities.
However, the cheapest and most popular phones are only sold to
Canadian residents. Pay-as-you-go accounts are generally expensive
to use, and limited to the province you're in. Check before leaving
home if your existing mobile can have its chip replaced to operate
in Canada. Mobile-phone reception in Canada is still quite limited,
and may not work out in the wilds.
To send a telegram either within Canada or abroad,
contact the local AT&T Canada office, listed in the telephone
directory. Credit card holders can dictate messages over the phone.
At any time, day or night, you can also phone in Telepost
messages, a guaranteed next-day or sooner service in Canada and the
US; billing arrangements are made at the time of giving the
message. Intelpost is an international fax service available
at main post offices, and paid for by cash.